Not much has happened since our slog of a season ended, but what did happen should be surprising to anybody.

Our first order of business was dismissing Bobby Valentine, which we did last Thursday. This is something that was entirely predictable, appropriate, and correct. We all know that he shouldn’t even have been hired in the first place. It was awful. He just wasn’t a good fit for our clubhouse, and the whole situation with him at the helm was completely dysfunctional. There’s no need to go into specifics, but suffice it to say that there is a certain degree of professionalism that I think players and fans alike expect from a manager and that Bobby Valentine’s conception of that degree differed from ours. Anyway, look for John Farrell and Tim Bogar to be on the brass’s radar. Other possibilities include Torey Lovullo, former Pawtucket manager and current Jays first base coach; Joe McEwing, Other Sox bench coach; Tim Wallach, Dodgers third base coach; Brad Ausmus; and last but not least, our very own Jason Varitek. Onward and forward!

Our blockbuster deal with the Dodgers is finally done. For Nick Punto, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez, we took on Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands in addition to previously acquired James Loney, Ivan De Jesus, and Allen Webster.

Well, it’s been to the headlines and back by now, and anyone familiar with how baseball works would know that there was no chance in the world that this was going to stay quiet until the formalities were taken care of. So let’s talk about it.

We just sent most of our core to the Dodgers, in keeping with their doubling as the Los Angeles Blue Sox. And when I say that it was most of our core, I mean that literally. Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto. They all involved waivers. All but one of those were starters for us, and Punto did see more than his fair share of playing time as a utility man off the bench. In return, we will receive four prospects (right-hander Allen Webster, infielder Ryan De Jesus, and two more to be named), a first baseman (Jason Loney), and financial flexibility. There is no question about the fact that this is one of the largest waiver deals ever and certainly the largest in recent baseball history.

Obviously this is a huge deal, both literally and figuratively. Beckett has obviously struggled this year, as have Crawford and Gonzalez and Punto, although much less than Beckett. So if Ben wanted to make some sort of wave by getting rid of somebody big, he could have just gotten rid of Beckett and have been done with it. That would have been the obvious action, if there were one at all. But to ship out all four of these guys, especially Gonzalez? Was that really necessary? Regardless of who these prospects might be and what this flexibility might look like, is this really the best thing for our future? Or is it a short-term quick fix to show the Nation that the brass is at least doing something and that this really was a bridge year? Furthermore, does this mean that the brass has sided with Bobby V. rather than the players regarding the issue of his managerial style, or does this have nothing to do with that at all because it’s based strictly on performance, or lack thereof? But if it does have to do with that, how certain are the brass that the solution indeed involved the players rather than the manager and coaches?

Punto finishes his lone season with us, which wasn’t even a whole season, with a batting average of .200, an on-base percentage of .301, and a slugging percentage of .272. He has had 125 at-bats in sixty-five games; he has twenty-five hits to his credit as well as ten RBIs and fourteen runs. He has walked nineteen times and stolen five bases. He has played every infield position this year and has made only two errors.

Crawford departs after having played almost two season here. Last season was better in terms of playing time, while this season was better in terms of performance. He finishes this season with us with a batting average of .282, an on-base percentage of .306, and a slugging percentage of .479. He has had 117 at-bats in thirty-one games; he has thirty-three hits to his credit as well as nineteen RBIs and twenty-three runs. He has walked three times and stolen five bases. He has made only one error in the field.

Gonzalez also departs after having played almost two seasons here, but it feels like so much more because he has so easily become a fixture on this team. He historically has been known for his great leadership and team presence, both in the clubhouse and on the field. He always seemed to be really enthusiastic about playing here, and he usually let his production do the talking. And it talked a lot. His average last year was a cool .338, and it was hard to imagine him not getting up there and whacking some ball for extra bases every time. He certainly did struggle at the beginning of the season but has since started to bounce back quite nicely. His average is now at .300, and he has an on-base percentage of .343 and slugging percentage of .469. He’s had 484 at-bats in 123 games; he has 145 hits to his credit as well as eighty-six RBIs and sixty-three runs. He has walked thirty-one times and stolen no bases, but that’s alright because his job, unlike Crawford’s, is not even partially to steal bases. His job is to hit for extra bases, and that he can do. He hasn’t hit any triples, but he’s hit thirty-seven doubles and fifteen home runs. And in addition to first base he has also played right field this year because he’s a team player, and when the team needed him, he didn’t ask questions; he just slid right in there, and he did an impressive job at that. He made four errors this year, two in right and two at first.

Beckett, of course, is the most storied of the four. He’s certainly been here the longest, so he’s given us more memories, some good and some bad but all unique. He came here in 2006 and had a subpar season. In 2007 he went twenty and seven, and everyone but those in the position to award the Cy Young knew that he was the one who deserved it, regardless of the fact that he was a huge reason why we won the World Series that year. His start in Game One was phenomenal. It was a real gem. He retired nine batters, including his first four, and gave up only one run. 2008 was another mediocre year, but 2009 saw him largely back to his old self, finishing the season with a record of seventeen and six. 2010 was an abysmal year, and of course last year was decent; his record was thirteen and seven, so he won almost twice as many games as he lost. And then we have this year. This year he’s five and eleven with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He’s pitched 127.1 innings and given up seventy-four earned runs on 131 hits, sixteen of which were home runs; incidentally, he’s only allowed one unearned run. He has given up thirty-eight walks as well. So, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not like every single season he’s been here except for this one has been an unabashed success. Far from it. But when he’s been successful, he’s been really, really, really successful. And of course there’s his personality. Rumor had it that he was partly if not completely responsible for the deterioration of our clubhouse and has been widely associated with the instigation of beer-drinking and whatnot within it. As I said at the time when all of this was news, none of us were actually there, and we can’t know what really went on. All we know is that, despite his mile-wide competitive streak and work ethic, Beckett has not been performing well at all on the mound.

On the eve of the departures of these players, we salute their commitment to this team and the accomplishments that they achieved during their stay here. In the spirit of the tribute, therefore, Punto, Crawford, and of course Gonzalez as well as Beckett, we’ll miss you and we salute you. Now, as far as the implications of the deal and what it all means, there are things I said and there are things I didn’t necessarily overtly say. But in reality I said a lot. Ultimately, our task now is to see what we end up doing during our offseason.

We lost to the Royals in extras last night, but it really wasn’t Cook’s fault. Cook, for his part, did an extremely admirable job, especially when you consider the fact that he made this start on three days’ rest. He gave up three runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out none over six innings. He gave up all three runs in the first thanks to a double that brought in two and then a single that brought in one. He then cruised for the remainder of his outing. Meanwhile, our hitters put us on top. The Royals may have scored three runs, but we answered with four in the second. Gomez hit a solo shot, the first homer of his Major League career, and then Salty and Lavarnway hit back-to-back singles to set the table for Aviles, who went yard on the first pitch he saw, sending the ball out toward the Monster. And the third inning only served to solidify the fact that we were in control. Pedroia doubled, Ellsbury walked, and Ross singled to load the bases; thanks to a single by Gomez as well as a Royals error, we scored another two runs plus a third thanks to a sac fly by Salty. We just kept piling it on in the fourth; Ciriaco walked, and Ellsbury singled two outs later. Ross and Gomez added their consecutive singles to Ellsbury’s to go back-to-back-to-back and plate two more runs.

So by the time Cook’s appearance came to an end, we were leading, 9-3. And I have to say, I was feeling pretty comfortable with how I expected this game to turn out. I mean, we just scored nine runs, and we did it with everything: long ball, small ball; you name it, we did it. And we had a six-run lead to boot. But I should have expected that no lead would possibly have been safe.

Because then the seventh inning happened, and the seventh inning was when our entire relief corps ruined it completely, imploded totally, and embodied the epitome of an epic fail. First, it was Miller, who allowed a groundout, a single, a strikeout, two consecutive walks, and an RBI single that scored two. Then Melancon came on and gave up an RBI double and an RBI single. Then Breslow came on and gave up a triple that scored two and then managed to finish the inning with an intentional walk followed by a groundout.

Breslow pitched the eighth, Bailey pitched the ninth, Padilla pitched the tenth, and Tazawa pitched the eleventh and most of the twelfth. He gave up a walk, a double, and finally the single that scored the winning run. Mortensen replaced him after that and ended the inning. And we threatened a bit in the eighth, when Ellsbury got himself to third with two out, and in the tenth, when Ciriaco was thrown out at home. But we didn’t score since the fourth, so we allowed our lead to be completely squandered and lost, 10-9, even though we outhit them, 20-14.

And as an added reflection of the badness of our entire situation, Aceves reportedly slammed the door on his way into Bobby V.’s office after Friday’s game and has been suspended for three games for conduct detrimental to the team.

Because as miserable as it is to lose to the Yanks, it’s ridiculously awesome with an equal magnitude to beat them. There’s really not much more to say. If we could only beat one team this year and we could pick which one, I don’t know who wouldn’t pick the Yanks.

I’ll start with Lester, who pitched spectacularly. He pitched seven solid innings during which he gave up only one run on five hits while walking two and striking out four. That one run was the result of a solo shot he allowed with two out in the fourth. It was basically the only big mistake he made. Other than that, the Yanks had nothing on him. His cut fastball was biting and moving as well as it has ever done. Naturally he got the win, because he completely deserved it.

And now I’ll move to the hitters, who gave Lester enough backing this time to pull out the W. We didn’t waste any time, either. It was like we smelled a win and wanted to make sure it was actually true. Crawford singled in the first, and then Gonzalez unloaded on a fastball. It was his fourth pitch, and the count was 2-1. It ended up in left field like it was his job. Which it is. And when he does it, he does it exceptionally well. Red Sox hitter goes yard against the Evil Empire. What a refreshing sight to see!

Ciriaco singled and scored on a double by Punto in the fifth, and then last but not least, Podsednik singled to lead off the ninth, moved to third on a double by Ciriaco, and then scored on a wild pitch.

And last but not least, we couldn’t have done it without a hold each from Bailey and Breslow, who pitched the eighth, and a save from Aceves, who pitched the ninth.

So the final score was 4-1. It wasn’t much. It wasn’t a slugfest or any other lopsided score by any means. It wasn’t an enormous statement of dominance. But it was a win. It was a win against the Yankees. And that’s a good a win as you can get. Not much else to say, really. I’m just going to revel in our Yankee-beating glory. Short and sweet and getting it done.

There’s nothing like digging deep to remind you that you can indeed get the job done. And as with every situation this season that’s worthy of celebration and happiness, there is always a grim reminder of the fact that it shouldn’t be celebratory because it should be ordinary; this is the kind of win that we should be able to pull off in our sleep. And as with every grim reminder of the fact that it shouldn’t be celebratory because it should be ordinary, there is always another grim reminder of the fact that the reason why it’s celebratory is because it’s so rare these days.

Buchholz was the first to dig deep. He allowed two runs on a double in the first and one run on a solo shot to lead off the second, and that was it. He was lights-out for the rest of the game, which he almost pitched to completion. Aceves ended up coming out for the ninth, during which he retired the side and got the save. But Buchholz was in absolute top form when he was on the mound. He owned the Orioles when he was out there. He had their number all the way through and didn’t let them gain an inch after that second inning. He just kept his head down and did it, and in so doing he set an example that should be followed immediately.

My favorite inning was by far the sixth. He retired the side. With strikeouts. On a total of nine pitches. That means that every single pitch he threw that inning was a strike. Curveball, curveball, cutter, four-seam, cutter, four-seam, four-seam, cutter, splitter. One, two, three. No chance, no chance, no chance. It was ridiculously awesome. There was absolutely nothing the Orioles could do against him. As the game went on, he kept getting better, and they just couldn’t figure him out.

So he ended up walking three and striking out a grand total of seven and throwing 107 pitches, seventy-two of which were strikes. He allowed a total of eight hits, four of which were for extra bases, three of which were doubles, the fourth being the solo shot.

But Buchholz would never have gotten the win if the hitters hadn’t also dug deep. We did everything the Orioles hitters weren’t doing: wearing out the starter, being patient at the plate, getting deep into counts, and making him throw a lot of pitches. We scored our first run in the second, when Punto walked and scored on a single by Podsednik, who’s back in Boston. At the time that simply reduced our deficit to one; it didn’t tie the game or put us ahead. In fact, after Buchholz allowed the solo shot, our deficit was back up to two runs. So we needed more.

And that’s exactly what we got in the fifth inning. Ellsbury provided an out to start it off, but then Crawford singled, Pedroia doubled, Crawford scored on a wild pitch, and Pedroia scored on a sac fly by Gonzalez. We put the finishing touches that would become the game’s final score in the sixth. Podsednik doubled, Ellsbury walked and was out at second on a force out by Crawford, Podsednik scored on a single by Pedroia, Crawford scored on a single by Gonzalez, and Pedroia scored on a single by Ross.

So the game ended with us on top, 6-3. Gonzalez and Podsednik both went two for four, Crawford and Pedroia went two for five, and Ross went three for five. Most importantly, it was a team effort. We won because the team dug deep. If only the team always digging deep were enough.

Pitcher makes bid for no-no. Pitcher gets halfway through game with no-no. Opposing team takes solace in the fact that, if they can manage to scrape together just one hit, pitcher will implode completely after losing bid. Pitcher gives up first hit. Pitcher does indeed implode completely after losing bid. Team on receiving end of win ends up losing.

And I know that story because that’s the exact same story I root for every time I even think we might actually be the victims of a no-no or some such outcome. Fortunately, in that situation it comes through for us almost every time, and certainly in recent memory. But when your pitcher is the one making the bid and then losing it and imploding, suddenly the story means something very different. It means a regular old loss instead of a loss that at least represents the recovery of your dignity.

When Cook was in business, Cook was in business. His bid lasted for five innings, and he actually had a perfect game going through the fourth, when he gave up his first of three walks. He gave up his second walk an inning later. He had the Orioles wound around his finger and did with them as he pleased. They all stepped up, and he sent them down in every way you could possibly send a batter down. He mowed through that lineup like it was a lawn in need of some serious grooming. And he did it precisely and efficiently to boot.

And then came the sixth, and it was like he completely transformed right in front of our eyes. Actually, scratch that; he did transform right in front of our eyes. From a good pitcher to a bad pitcher. He gave up five runs, but he’s lucky he didn’t give up much, much more. After securing the inning’s first out, Cook gave up his third and final walk, his first hit of the night in the form of a single, and then his second in the form of an RBI single. His next hitter ended up reaching on a force attempt; Cook made a throwing error, and that brought in another run. Then Cook gave up a double that scored one.

And that was when he was replaced by Miller, who began his workload with a fielder’s choice out at home that also resulted in a baserunner. That was it for Miller, and Tazawa came in and gave up a double that scored two followed by a single, which was when he was replaced by Breslow, who finished the inning and pitched the seventh as well. Mortensen pitched the eighth.

As far as the offense is concerned, we were busy matching the Orioles pitch for pitch, which in this case means not hitting anything for the first half of the game or so. We scored our first run in the fifth; with one out, we hit back-to-back singles and scored one run on a double by Ellsbury and the other on a sac fly by Crawford. So at the time, we were up by two. Then the sixth inning happened. And then we scored our last run in the seventh, when Punto reached on a fielding error, advanced to third on a deflected hit by Ellsbury, and scored on a sac fly by Crawford. That was all we could muster.

So the final score was 5-3. We could really have used the galvanizing effects that a no-no always brings with it. If you thought things weren’t bad already, they’re really starting to get bad now. Gonzalez and Bobby V. were both ejected in the eighth because Gonzalez argued that he was quick-pitched. And you could just tell that they and the rest of the team are tired, frustrated, and wanting so badly to just win but for some reason not being able to do it consistently.

Man, oh, man, we just got seriously one-upped in pretty much every way. I mean, Lester got absolutely shelled. He’s had much more than his fair share of bad starts this year, but he got shelled. It wasn’t pretty. He didn’t really do much of anything right. You know it’s bad when your run total is amply enough for the team to win and yet somehow you still lose. It was ugly, ugly, ugly.

Lester gave up eleven runs on nine hits over the course of only four innings. No pitcher from this team has given up eleven earned runs in a single start since Doug Bird did it in 1983. Seriously. Not even Dice-K on his worst day. Lester walked five and struck out two; clearly there is something fundamentally wrong with that ratio. He gave up four home runs.

There was a solo shot to lead off the game (literally, because it was on the first pitch Lester fired, which was a sinker), and then a walk and a single and a double that scored one, a groundout that scored another, and a double that scored another. Then there was a strikeout, and then there was a sac bunt that scored one. So that’s a grand total of five runs in the first inning alone.

We got three of them back in the bottom of the inning using a similar strategy. Ellsbury singled, Nava grounded out and moved him to second, and then Pedroia singled to put runners at the corners. Ultimately it didn’t matter where the runners were standing because Gonzalez fouled two fastballs off before hitting the third out to right center field for a three-run shot, thereby reducing our deficit to two runs with one swing of the bat.

So at the time it was easy to think that maybe Lester just had a really, really, really bad first inning but would settle down after that. But it turned out that if you thought that, you couldn’t have been more wrong. Lester opened the second with a five-pitch walk, secured the inning’s first two outs, then allowed another walk and then another home run, this one on a changeup. And it was followed, of course, by a solo shot on a cut fastball that clearly didn’t really cut, which was more or less the theme of the day for Lester. He had a one-two-three inning in the third and allowed a single and a walk in the fourth but managed to conclude it without further damage. In the bottom of the inning, with one out and the bases loaded thanks to two singles and a walk, the only thing that Aviles came up with was a sac fly that brought in one.

Lester came out to pitch the fifth, and in so doing allowed a walk followed by his fourth and final home run on another completely ineffective cut fastball. Ellsbury led off the fifth with a solo shot on his fourth pitch, also a fastball.

Basically he had no command, no control, no effective pitches, no good grasp of the strike zone, no efficiency, and no ability to not make mistakes and to shut the door. After the epic embarrassment and humiliation that was Lester’s start, Tazawa came on and got us through the rest of the fifth as well as the sixth and seventh.

With two out in the bottom of the sixth, Sweeney doubled and scored on a double by Aviles, who scored on a single by Punto. Those were the last runs we scored yesterday. Unfortunately, the Jays still were not finished. Melancon came on to pitch the eighth and gave up four straight singles, if you can believe it, the last one scoring two runs. Then he gave up a sac fly that scored one more. Then he gave up two more singles followed by another sac fly.

So the final score was 15-7. They scored more than twice as many runs as we did, and they had exactly twice as many hits as we did (they had eighteen, and we had nine). They had three times the multi-hit games that we did (they had six, and we had two), not to mention twice the home runs.

There is absolutely no doubt that this was the worst start of Lester’s entire career thus far, and I sincerely hope that this is the worst it’s ever going to get so that the only place he can go from here is up. It was painful, it was crushing, it was humiliating, and it was completely undignified. It was horrible. And we are now at .500 yet again. This one’s on Lester. There should be no reason in the world why a team that scores seven runs should lose, especially not by a deficit more than that total. I don’t even know what to think about this.

Well, we’ve made it through the first half, but I can’t say I’m pleased with where we are. The only thing I could say is that I’m glad it’s not worse than it is, but that really, really doesn’t say much. We’re suffering from inconsistency, injuries, and just a general lack of that spark we’ve tended to see in our winning teams in recent years. These are underlying, pervasive problems that can’t just be fixed by a trade or a snap of the fingers. Changes have to come from within, but it’s hard to pinpoint a solution when the sources of the problems are hard to pinpoint themselves. Either way, we know what we have to do to improve: win consistently.

As I do every year, I’ve graded the entire team at the halfway point:

Kelly Shoppach: B

As backup catchers go, Shoppach is pretty good. In thirty-one games, he’s made only two errors and four passed balls. His catcher’s ERA is 3.76, which anyone on our pitching staff these days would be lucky to have. He has also hit ten doubles and four home runs, and his batting average is .269, which isn’t bad for a backup catcher, either.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: B

Salty is working out much better than we expected power-wise. He ranks first among all Major League catchers in home runs with seventeen, which I don’t think is something many people predicted. But all but one of those were hit from the left side, which is something he needs to work on. He also needs to work on his fielding, which is supposed to be one of a catcher’s strong suits. His fielding percentage is .987, which is high but, in my opinion, not high enough. He’s made six errors and passed five balls; I’m looking for something closer to zero errors and zero passed balls. His catcher’s ERA is 4.45, which is decent, and he’s come a long way as far as forging relationships with the pitchers and calling good games is concerned.

Adrian Gonzalez: C

I am not afraid to say that Gonzalez so far has been a huge disappointment. He is nowhere near the powerhouse he was last season, and I was fully expecting this season to exceed last season. He is second among Major League first basemen in doubles with twenty-seven and eighth in RBIs with forty-five, but he’s not even in the top twenty in home runs. With only six, he’s actually last among all first basemen in the American League. His fielding, however, is as solid as ever. He’s made only one error, so his fielding percentage is .999. But offensively we need much, much more from him. The team is struggling, but he was not supposed to be one of the reasons why.

Dustin Pedroia: C

It’s always tough to grade a player who’s been plagued with injuries because you have to assume that the injuries weren’t his fault, and you have to try to compare his performance given the injuries with what you expect his ideal performance to be given the injuries. The truth is that Pedroia is struggling across the board offensively. Doubles, home runs, walks, on-base percentage; you name it, he’s not performing as well as he could be in it, even given the injuries. His fielding, like Gonzalez, is as solid as ever with a percentage of .997. But like Gonzalez, Pedroia was not supposed to be one of the reasons why the team is struggling. He’s a phenomenal leader both on and off the field, but we also need him to lead the charge offensively and help the team win on a more consistent basis.

Mike Aviles: B

Our woes at shortstop for the most part continue. Why we can’t get a shortstop in there who can hit as well as he fields is completely beyond me. Aviles is making a valiant effort, but it’s not enough. First of all, his fielding percentage is .982. He has made seven errors. I understand that shortstop is the most difficult position defensively, but that’s also why you need an amazing fielder to man it. Aviles is a great fielder. He is not an amazing fielder. He’s not an amazing hitter, either. He has a .260 average and .283 on-base percentage. He’s hit twenty-two doubles, no triples, and nine home runs with forty-four RBIs and twelve walks. Not the best shortstop material.

Will Middlebrooks: B

Middlebrooks has some big shoes to fill, so he has to go through a process of proving himself. I will say that he’s off to a fantastic start offensively. His performance at the plate has been phenomenal, and it’s been truly wonderful to witness the fruits of our labor on the farm in growing a power hitter ourselves. In forty-eight games, he has fifty-one hits, eleven of which are doubles and ten of which are home runs. He has a .298 average and a .335 on-base percentage thanks to nine walks, so he could walk more. His performance in the field, not so much. He has a fielding percentage of .935 and has made seven errors. Third base is a tough place to play as well, and he needs to work on it to round out his game.

Nick Punto: B

Think about what Punto is for. Punto is a utility infielder. He’s supposed to be able to play any position decently well and to hit decently well. He is not supposed to be truly outstanding at everything infield, and we’re lucky if he’s outstanding at one thing infield. So the criteria he’d have to meet for an A is lower than it is for a starter. Still, as utility infielders go, it’s not like he’s been that great. His average is .212; only six of his twenty-one hits were for extra bases, and he has only eight RBIs. And he’s played forty-nine games, which is about more than a quarter of the whole season, so it’s not like he’s had hardly any playing time. His performance in the field is much stronger than his performance at the plate, but it still could be better.

Ryan Sweeney: C

I was on the fence about a C or a D. But then I realized that I was only going to give him a D because Josh Reddick would have been so much better, and that wouldn’t be fair. It’s not Sweeney’s fault that he’s in right field and not Reddick; that’s Ben’s fault, and we’ll get to that later. Anyway, Sweeney’s .283 average is respectable. His seventeen doubles, two triples, and zero home runs are not. Neither are his nine walks. His two errors in right are alright, but errors made in the outfield tend to be costly because the ball is farther away from the infield, so those two errors could probably count for more.

Cody Ross: B

Ross has been good but not great. His thirteen home runs from the right side of the plate are a much-needed edition to our lineup, and his twenty-four walks show patience at the plate. He also has fourteen doubles and forty RBIs to his credit, and he has yet to make an error in the field. I’d say he’s been better than expected, but he could be better still; his .264 average and .345 on-base percentage leave much to be desired.

Daniel Nava: A

If you told me during Spring Training that Nava would play fifty-two games by the All-Star break and bat.275 with an on-base percentage of .388, I would have been extremely skeptical. But that’s what happened. And he has forty-seven hits to his credit, seventeen of which are doubles and three of which are homers. He has also walked twenty-six times and has made only one error. For a utility outfielder that has suddenly found himself in the limelight thanks to injuries, he’s been handling himself very well.

Ryan Kalish: C

In short, he’s still a kid and he needs work, in the sense that he needs to be worked, in terms of playing time, and to be worked on, in terms of training time. He’s played eighteen games this year and has hit only two extra-base hits, both of them doubles. He has walked only twice and batted in only five runs. And he has made two errors, and between the fact that that’s over the course of only eighteen games and the fact that outfield errors are costly, that’s a lot.

David Ortiz: A

Nobody on this team deserves an A more than Big Papi. He ranks tenth in the Majors in doubles with twenty-five, fifth in slugging percentage with .607, and is tied for seventh in homers with twenty-two. Among DHs, he ranks first, first, and third in those categories. Simply put, the man’s job is to hit for extra bases. That’s what he does. He’s been doing it from day one this year, and he has continued to do it consistently. He’s just hit the four hundredth home run of his career, and he looks like he’s in line to hit many, many more. This season, the team seems to have two constants: inconsistency and Big Papi.

Offense Overall: B

As a team, we are sixth in the Majors in average with .268, eighth in on-base percentage with .329, and fourth in slugging percentage with .441. We are second in runs with 432, third in hits with 302, first in doubles with 208, eighth in home runs with 99, and third with RBIs with 409. And yet somehow we fail to win consistently. It’s because we don’t score runs consistently. Sometimes we score a little, and sometimes we score a lot. And of course it also has to do with the pitching, which we’ll get to later. But like I always say, just like the pitching staff’s job is to make sure that we win regardless of what the offense does or doesn’t do, so it is the offense’s job to make sure we win regardless of what the pitching staff does or doesn’t do.

Defense Overall: B

We are sixth in the Majors in fielding with a percentage of .986. It could be much, much better. I guess we can chalk it up to several players in key defensive positions having had to get used to Fenway, but that shouldn’t have taken the entire first half of the season.

Jon Lester: C

Lester has not pitched well at all. In fact, his numbers are unfortunately similar to Beckett’s. Why must our aces struggle at the same time? Why must our aces struggle at all? These are some of the big questions for which the team does not seem to have any answers whatsoever. He has a 4.49 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. In eighteen starts, he is 5-6 with fifty-six earned runs, thirty walks, and eleven home runs. Those numbers put him in the basement of the American League, which is not where a pitcher like Lester is expected to be.

Josh Beckett: C

Like Lester, Beckett has not pitched well at all. In fact, his numbers are unfortunately similar to Lester’s. He has a 4.43 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In fourteen starts, he is 4-7 with forty-four earned runs, twenty-two walks, and nine home runs. He also has the lowest average strikeout total per nine innings of his career at 6.5. And this is the mighty Josh Beckett that should have won the Cy Young in 2007? He’s like a completely different pitcher now.

Clay Buchholz: C

Buchholz has actually been terrible this year. He has started fourteen games and is eight and two, but he has a 5.53 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP with fifty-three earned runs, fifteen home runs, and thirty-four walks. In 86.1 innings pitched, he has given up ninety-nine hits. It’s a miracle that he has more wins than losses, and how he managed to rack up so many wins is a mystery. Yet another disappointment.

Daniel Bard: D

I’m honestly sorry to give Bard a D, but it’s the grade he deserves. He was made a starter partly because his superiors wanted him to be a starter and partly also because he wanted to be a starter. But the truth of the matter is that he has no business being a starter. If something isn’t broken, nobody should try to fix it, and Bard was on the road to a fantastic career as a closer. We needed him as a closer. And instead he became this mediocre pitcher stripped of his dignity. He started ten games and had an ERA of 5.24 and a WHIP of 1.62. In fifty-five innings pitched, he gave up fifty-two hits, thirty-two earned runs, six homers, and thirty-seven walks. His record was 5-6. Let it be stated here that Bard is much more effective as a setup man or closer. And the fact that that actually has to be stated is an embarrassment. It should have been evident.

Felix Doubront: B

I don’t think anyone predicted in Spring Training that Doubront would become our best starter. Then again, as we have seen, this season has been full of surprises, most of them unpleasant, so Doubront was a breath of fresh air. Not that that says much. In any other season, if Lester and Beckett and Buchholz pitched to their abilities, Doubront would be at the middle or bottom of the rotation at best. Anyway, his ERA is currently 4.41, and his WHIP is 1.38. He has started seventeen games and has a record of 9-4. In ninety-six innings pitched, he’s given up forty-seven earned runs, fifteen homers, and thirty-five walks.

Aaron Cook: B

Compared to how we thought he was going to work out, Cook was actually a pleasant surprise as well. Again, that doesn’t say much, but given his health when he joined the team, it does say a lot about his determination and commitment. Plus he pitched that absolute gem a few starts ago, which can not be overlooked, especially since he’s made only four starts this season so far. He has a 4.37 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, which is decent under his circumstances. And we need the extra starter anyway.

Daisuke Matsuzaka: D

I’ve been thinking that Dice-K is a problem with no solution.

Matt Albers: B

Albers has not been outstanding, but he has been pretty great. He certainly has made a valiant effort to turn it around from last season and has a nice 2.38 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. In thirty-four innings, he’s given up thirteen runs on twenty-six hits with twenty strikeouts. He’s pitched in thirty-two games and has blown only three saves. It should be zero, but this is not the team with which to be picky.

Andrew Miller: B

Again, not outstanding but pretty great. 2.75 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 19.2 innings pitched. Six runs on thirteen hits and no blown saves. If he continues pitching as well as he has so far, he will have the best season of his career numbers-wise. Granted, he spent most of his career as a starter, but he’s found this new role in which he has a chance to be really successful for a team that really needs him.

Scott Atchison: A

Here’s someone who’s outstanding. Atchison is probably our best reliever so far. His ERA is a low 1.79, and his WHIP is a low .99, and that’s over 45.1 innings pitched. He’s given up only nine runs on thirty-six hits while walking nine and striking out thirty-three. He has also given up only two home runs. Outstanding.

Vicente Padilla: C

As a setup man, he hasn’t done as well as I would have liked. His 3.94 ERA and 1.38 WHIP are actually terrible for a setup man, but somehow he gets through it. In thirty-two innings, he’s given up fourteen earned runs on thirty-five hits while striking out only nine. He’s blown two saves. Now, a setup man is a setup man; he’s supposed to put the closer in a position where the closer can close, and he’s supposed to keep the team in a position where the team can win. That means not blowing any saves and not giving up any runs, and if you do give up runs, giving up the bare minimum of runs. I don’t feel he’s done that.

Franklin Morales: B

Another thing that I don’t think anyone predicted at Spring Training was Morales’s versatility. He is both a reliever and a starter, and he is effective in both roles. He is 1-2 with eight holds and no blown saves, and he has an ERA of 3.50 and a WHIP of 1.17. He has made four starts and pitched 46.1 innings total, and he has given up eighteen earned runs on forty-one hits while walking thirteen. Between all the injuries we’ve had, without Morales to fill in and start, we’d be in a very bad place.

Mark Melancon: D

Melancon doesn’t do much. Somehow it’s happened that he and Mortensen tend to appear in games together, but he hasn’t really made much of an impact. And that’s probably because he can’t be trusted, so he doesn’t get that much playing time. He has a 7.04 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP and has pitched 15.1 innings. He’s given up twelve earned runs on eighteen hits.

Alfredo Aceves: C

Let’s not forget that Aceves began the season abysmally, and we were all wondering how in the world we would be expected to continue the season with a closer like that. Well, we didn’t, because Aceves pulled it together and turned it around. And now his ERA is 4.33 and his WHIP is 1.19. I mean, that’s actually terrible for a closer, especially in light of what we’ve been used to in recent years, but it could have been a lot worse. Still, objectively speaking, we need him to be better. He’s pitched 43.2 innings and has given up twenty-one earned runs on thirty-eight hits. He also has four blown saves.

Pitching Overall: D

It should come as no surprise to anyone that our team ERA of 4.22 is one of the worst in the Major Leagues. So is our strikeout total, our batting average against, our earned run total, and our loss total. Our pitching staff is absolutely terrible this year and must somehow be fixed. However, a distinction must be made between the rotation and the relief corps. The latter is performing much better than the former. On the one hand, we expect our relievers to ideally not allow any runs. On the other hand, this is baseball, and runs are allowed, and the relief corps can not be expected to constantly clean up the messes made by the starters. It drags the relief corps down when they give up runs that end up costing the team games because the offense doesn’t hit or score and the starters don’t limit the damage.

Bobby Valentine: C

There are those who say that Bobby V. is not effective here because the brass won’t let him be himself. There are those who say that Bobby V. is not effective here because the brass lets him be too much of himself. And there are those who say that Bobby V. is not the problem and that the team is the problem. Well, I’m not in the clubhouse or the front office, so I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. But I do know that Bobby V. is in a class by himself. His managerial style is not one that Boston has had in a long time, certainly not in recent years. It is a style that our players and many of our new guys are not familiar with. It is a style that is not always the most adaptable and that probably expects more adaptation than it itself makes. And it is a style that takes some getting used to. This style affects his conduct both on and off the field; it affects how he makes strategic decisions before, during, and after games and it affects how he interacts with the players and the media. And based on what I have seen, based on the decisions that he has made and the things that he has said, I don’t think that that getting-used-to process is over.

Ben Cherington: C

Let’s see. Andrew Bailey is still on the DL, Reddick is having a pretty good year, and Bard is not a starter. Whether the Youkilis trade was warranted remains to be seen. I trust Ben because Theo Epstein trained him and because in the past he’s shown that he has a very intelligent and strategic mind when it comes to sabermetrics and the ins and outs of being a good general manager for a team like ours. And he’s had only one off season and one half of a season so far at the helm, so the sample size is small. So I clearly will be giving him the benefit of the doubt. But I just hope that his long-term vision for the team is not compromised by any sort of impulse from anywhere to find quick fixes that may help us in the short run but will damage our future.

Team Overall: D

I don’t really know what else to say. If I sound crushed and exasperated and frustrated, it’s because I am. And I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say that we all are. At the All-Star break, we’re at .500, tied for fourth (or last) place with Toronto and nine and a half games out of first place, which is where the Yanks are. We can’t win as a team, we can’t win consistently, we can’t score runs consistently, we can’t pitch well consistently. We can’t do much of anything consistently. We have all these problems and no solutions. We need to pull it together in an enormously huge way and have a truly phenomenal second half if we want to avoid the consequences of having a second half just like our first half.